The firearms licence requirements will also require the state to compile information on an applicant’s political and philosophical views.
Photograph: Gualberto Becerra/Alamy

The Dutch government is facing a storm of protest over plans to register the race and religion of people seeking a firearms licence.

The requirements, contained in a bill set to be introduced in the lower house of the Dutch parliament next month, would also require the state to compile information on an applicant’s political and philosophical views.

The changes are being made to comply with a tightened European directive on the possession of weapons, after a series of terrorist attacks across the continent in recent years.

But critics, including privacy campaigners and members of two of the parties in the Dutch coalition government – the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and D66 – say the cabinet, which proposed the legislation, has gone beyond the EU’s requirements.

Monica den Boer, an MP for the liberal D66 party, told the Dutch daily newspaper De Volkskrant: “We must not exceed this privacy limit. According to the minimum requirements of the European directive, it is also not necessary at all. We do not promote discrimination and ethnic profiling, so these special personal details have to be removed from the bill.”

Chris van Dam, a CDA MP, told the paper: “I cannot imagine a situation that justifies this being included in the law.”

The ministers leading on the legislation have claimed in an explanatory note to the bill that the collection of the information is necessary as “risk factors for weapon possession are diverse” and the police need information from various sources to weigh up whether it is safe to allow someone to hold a weapon.

The objective of the European directive, which should have been translated into domestic law on 15 September, is to improve the traceability of firearms within the EU and to facilitate automated data exchange.

Amedy Coulibaly, who attacked a kosher supermarket in early 2015, had been carrying two automatic rifles. The guns had been decommissioned and legally bought in Slovakia, but were reconverted to fire live ammunition.

Julian King, the British EU commissioner for security, had told MEPs that such attacks, where legally purchased “modified acoustic and deactivated weapons” were used, was the driving force behind the changes.

Under the draft legislation due to be presented to the Dutch parliament, those who want to join a shooting club must first submit a declaration on behaviour. To shoot with their own weapon they will then have to apply for a permit from a local police chief, and provide a range of information that will be held by the authorities for 30 years.

The Dutch Personal Data Protection Authority said it could see no justification for the far-reaching requirements. Dutch police provide about 70,000 licences per year for more than 200,000 firearms.